Flagbearer of the Italian winemaking tradition, Brunello di Montalcino has its roots in a thousand-year history of resilience, tenacity and foresight.

Very few people, even among non-wine enthusiasts, have never heard of this Italian excellence. Very few people, then, abroad, do not associate this wine with our country as one of the many identifying symbols of Italian excellence. The Brunello di Montalcino , one of the flagships of the Italian winemaking tradition, was born in Tuscany, in the municipality of Montalcino, not far from the city of Siena. A place full of charm, characterized by a thousand-year history, capable of captivating visitors thanks to breathtaking views and a red wine of great structure and elegance, which is not afraid of the passage of time.

Brunello di Montalcino: the characteristics of excellence

Without a doubt, it is one of the most representative wines of Italian winemaking in the world. It is a red wine, produced exclusively in the territory of the Tuscan town of Montalcino with a particular variety of the Sangiovese grape, the 'Sangiovese Grosso'.

The characteristics of this wine are linked to its great elegance, structure and balance and they are further enhanced by an aging that can last for decades. Over time this particularity, thanks to its indisputable value and incredible charm, has become a symbol of excellence, considered by many connoisseurs a true work of art.

From the Middle Ages to today

The history of this well-known and appreciated wine specialty is closely linked to the countryside surrounding the town of Montalcino: it is an area famous since the distant past for the quality of its wine, and historians maintain that it can be traced back at least to the Etruscan era. In the Middle Ages this fame grew further, also thanks to the large number of wayfarers who traveled the nearby Via Francigena to go to Rome.

There is no shortage of historical citations of great interest, such as, for example, the one dating back to 1553, according to which the French leader Blaise de Montluc and his soldiers, engaged in the defense of the village's fortress, “his face was ruddy with the red wine” . More or less in the same period, the Bolognese scholar Leandro Alberti defined this territory as “highly renowned for the good wines that are produced from those pleasant hills” .

The list of references could go on for a long time but it is important to underline that, although one might think otherwise, at least until the beginning of the 19th century, among all the varieties produced in Montalcino, it was not a red wine that was the most appreciated, but a sweet white, the so-called 'Moscadello'.

Vineyard and territory

Wanting to enter a more specific descriptive sphere, we cannot fail to point out that Brunello is born from the Sangiovese vineyards that grow on the slopes of the Montalcino hill and their exposure has a significant influence on the characteristics of the grapes and, consequently, also on those of the wine. No less important, from this point of view, is the nature of the soil that, depending on the area, can change both in terms of composition and structure, while decisive, as always, is the human contribution that is expressed thanks to precise winemaking techniques.

It follows that the Brunello di Montalcino of each individual company will be able to express highly distinctive elements, a sort of 'trademark', and its winemaking process (and subsequent refinement) does not differ too much from that of any other red wine except for a few details: all this to make us understand how much the product of a particular plot can vary compared to that of another and give us sensations and emotions that vary from time to time.

A product of great value and tradition such as Brunello di Montalcino, since its birth has required a form of protection, aimed at preserving its peculiar characteristics and for this reason, in 1966 it was awarded the Controlled Designation of Origin (DOC) , which was followed, in 1980, by the attribution of the first Italian Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin (DOCG) .

Ferruccio Biondi Saints

Perhaps not everyone knows that Ferruccio Biondi Santi, without a doubt one of the most important figures in the history of Brunello di Montalcino, fought (and won) under the command of Giuseppe Garibaldi in the battle of Bezzecca (1866): a curiosity that, undoubtedly, adds further charm to the man who, in 1932, was in fact declared by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture to be the inventor of the famous wine!

Ferruccio Biondi Santi, in fact, following in his grandfather's footsteps and also because of the arrival of the phylloxera parasite that was destroying the vineyards, began to study the potential of a clone of the Sangiovese vine, locally called Brunello because of the particularly dark color of the grapes. The result of his experimentation and his research, produced the variety used to this day to produce Brunello di Montalcino, called Sangiovese Grosso.

Despite numerous awards and recognitions over the years, however, Brunello remained for many decades a wine known and appreciated only in the area surrounding the production area, also due to its high selling price. The vicissitudes of the early twentieth century led to its decline, so much so that very few producers kept Montalcino production alive between the two wars.

After the Second World War, however, people began to think about wine production again and some had the foresight to agree on its production rules to guarantee quality to the consumer and to create a sort of regulation that would protect it from its number one enemy: imitation.

Farsightedness, therefore, but also the great tenacity of a man like Biondi Santi and the great palate of Italians, are the main factors thanks to which, today, His Majesty Brunello still reigns undisputed on the best tables, making itself the standard-bearer of yet another excellence that our country is able to give to the world.

Written by Carlo Attisano for mangiaebevi.it